


Sleeping Arrangements

by PrxbablySleeping



Series: Iron Man Bingo 2019 [1]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Fluff, Iron Man Bingo 2019, Tony Stark Needs Sleep, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony Whump, dont get used to those lmao, get used to those
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-26
Updated: 2019-02-26
Packaged: 2019-11-05 20:41:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17926001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrxbablySleeping/pseuds/PrxbablySleeping
Summary: Tony's PTSD nightmares get the better of him, Pepper isn't sure what to do at first.Fic to fill the "800 Words Only" spot of my Iron Man Bingo 2019 card.





	Sleeping Arrangements

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first work in the Iron Man Bingo 2019 thingy so I'm making it kinda cute because the rest is just gonna be angst tbh.

Waking up next to Pepper had always been, in the most literal sense, a wake-up-call. After a petrifying dream, Tony would jolt awake and quickly notice Pepper’s freckled hand laying peacefully by her face. He would play with the hair that fell out of her pony tail before he would fall into an uninterrupted sleep.  
However, the nightmares never stopped. If anything, they grew like a parasite as more and more material was added to Tony’s repertoire of repressed memories. Afghanistan, Obadiah, Ultron, Steve smashing his suit, Pepper being swallowed by flames, Peter crumbling between his fingers. The horrific thoughts mingled in his subconscious and created a whole other monster that couldn’t be quelled by Pepper, so he stopped trying. He had forgotten what his room looked like, let alone what it meant to have a peaceful sleep in your own bed.

Tony had far too easily fallen into the old habit of mulling around his lab until the early hours of the morning, sometimes falling asleep at his desk or ‘resting his eyes’ for a little too long during the multiple times his knees buckled to the floor. Pepper had stopped begging him to follow her to their room, instead meeting his excuses with a sad, resigned smile and spending the night alone. As the days ticked by, though, the change in her fiancé became more drastic and unnerving than ever before.

The eye bags were normal, if a bit darker. The skin on his face had sunken in from his diet being hardly anything aside from coffee and the scraps Dum-E brought to him. He dazed in and out of focus and often fell asleep standing or in the middle of a conversation with another person. What worried Pepper the most, was the hospital visit.

After far too long without proper food, water, sleep, or any of the basic human needs, it was no real surprise when Tony collapsed in front of a full board room, Pepper included. The man was unconscious before he even hit the ground. Multiple of the men in suits were already on the phone with the nearest hospital as Pepper ordered Friday to contact Rhodey. 

Tony spent three days in the white-washed room, hating every second of it. Pepper made sure he wasn’t able to sign himself out, but also that Rhodey or Peter was there with him every waking moment. Once he was released, he had an entire apology speech planned out for Pepper, convinced that he had upset her due to her not visiting at all during his stay. She hadn’t even returned any of his calls and Rhodey refused to talk about her. He was on the verge of believing something had happened to her, or she had left him and Rhodes was under some kind of oath to not tell him before she could.

He made it back to the tower after prying absolutely no information from Happy. He searched for Pepper like a lost puppy before eventually coming to the bedroom that barely felt familiar. There, he did not find Pepper, but instead the absence of his king sized bed and both of the nightstands.

“FRIDAY,” Tony wanted to slap himself for not thinking of the AI sooner, “where’s Pepper?”

“Ms. Potts is currently in your lab, sir,” she replied sweetly.

Everything about that felt wrong to him. Of course Pepper had the access code to his lab, she even had the ability to override FRIDAY if she was locked out of it, but she had never shown anything but distaste for his workspace after seeing how he neglected himself in the space.

Tony made quick work of the walk and sure enough, there she was. Not only did he find Pepper Potts once he stepped in his lab, but he also found his bed and the TV he had forgotten was in there on top of the nightstand’s. The lab was large, but the bed stashed in the middle of it containing a red-head that looked a little too pleased with herself made it look like the size of a cheap Manhattan apartment.

“Why did you…” Tony trailed. “Are you- look, I’m really sorry. I know I should have-“

“Shut up and come watch a movie with me,” Pepper interrupted.

Tony did as told and climbed into the bed, where Pepper immediately huddled against his side.

“How did you even get this-“

“Shh,” she hushed him, “its starting.” She looked up at him, smiling at his confused look, “you like your lab, you feel comfortable here. We’ll go back to the bedroom eventually, but for now, I’m fine being in here with you.”

Pepper turned her attention to the movie and, surprisingly quickly, Tony fell into the most peaceful sleep he’d had in months.


End file.
